2008-09 Crew Blog - Week 3

by Elissa Center - October 2, 2008

This past weekend, we had our first all-team event. The varsity team made skits to introduce the novices to various aspects of rowing, such as how to tape blisters and how to do crazy drills. In the end, we were laughing just as hard as they were. We finished off the night with a name game that sent us running back and forth across the room. All in all, it was a great way to get to know our new teammates better and spend time together outside of practice...and meals...and the gym...and...Well, maybe we don’t actually need an excuse to spend time together, but it was fun anyway!

Practices have been going really well lately. We’ve been pushing ourselves on the water, and I can feel us getting faster every day. We’re definitely ready to apply all of the work we’ve done to a racing situation this weekend at the Head of the Riverfront! It should be a fun day of racing, starting a little after 6:00 a.m. for breakfast and lasting through the final race at 2:00 p.m. In addition to the eight, my teammate Sarah and I are going to race in a double. Since doubles don’t have coxswains, Sarah gets the extra-special job of rowing AND steering us, both of which she’s great at. :)

In comparison to our sprint races in the spring, I’ve heard fall races compared to “watching paint dry.” Although I have to vehemently disagree, it can be a bit less exciting to watch from shore. Instead of lining up side-by-side, the boats start one after the other and race the clock. You can get a good idea of how you stand based on whether you pass boats or get passed, but you have to wait until the scores are posted to know how your crew placed overall. In a way, it’s more fun that way because you can’t take anything for granted, and you have to push your hardest even if there are no boats in sight. Plus it’s 15-20 minutes of racing in the fall instead of 6-8, which is twice the fun!